The Fall of Man

Original Text: The Fall of Man

The story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne revolves around a man’s fall from faith. Young Goodman Brown is from Salem village which is made up of a strict society known as the Puritans. The Puritans dark nature is mentioned in the story when Hawthorne uses references such as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the Puritans bias of Quakers and the Kings Phillips War. These references are extreme cases of the way of how things were dealt with in the Puritans society. Young Goodman Brown is a Christian man and believed that his father and grandfather was also until the old man/devil in the forest told him otherwise. At the beginning of the story Young Goodman Brown a newlywed is about to leave his wife Faith to embark on this journey into the forest. Faith pleads with him not to go that night because she feared the thoughts that could harm her if she were left alone. Faith the embodiment of innocence with her pink ribbons in her hair is the what Young Goodman Brown clings to as his curiosity gets the best of him and he leaves his “Faith.”

As Goodman Brown travels through the forest he meets up with an man/devil sitting by the tree. This man/devil seems like any ordinary man but something not quite right about him. Young Goodman Brown sees that the man resembles his father, and according to the old man/ devil he has met both of Brown’s grandfather and farther. The old man/ devil even says that he aided Browns ‘grandfather in beating a Quaker and his farther in setting afire a Indian Village in Kings Phillips War. Young Goodman Brown is shocked that other people of importance such as the minister himself is involved with ungodly deeds. Brown is now truly seeing the evilness around him and wants to return home to his Faith in both the physical and spiritual sense. Brown’s now sees that even though the elders of his society and his ancestors included put on the persona of godliness, their actions were not that of devoted Christians. So when Young Brown thinks he hears his own wife’s voice in the forest he breaks down and finally gives in a joins the other in Satanic Sabbath ceremony. In that instant he his faith crumpled and he succumbed to the corrupted ways of his forefathers. As Good Brown uses the serpent staff as a beacon he arrives at the ceremony as does not see his wife Faith. When the old man/devil says “bring forth the coverts,” meaning Young Goodman Brown and a hooded female, readers find out that Faith is that female. Once Young Goodman Brown sees this all hope of maintain his own faith as long as Faith held on to hers was gone. At the end of the story readers truly see the fall of man from a secure faith to having none at all. Young Goodman Brown was exposed to evil in the forest that night and once evil is seen you see it everywhere just as Young Goodman Brown.

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Revised Text:

The story “Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, revolves around a man’s fall from faith. Young Goodman Brown is from Salem village, which is made up of a strict society known as the Puritans. The Puritans' dark nature is mentioned in the story when Hawthorne uses references such as; the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the Puritans bias against Quakers, and King Phillip's War. These references are extreme cases of the way things were dealt with in the Puritans' society.

Young Goodman Brown is a Christian man and believed that his father and grandfather were also until the old man/devil in the forest told him otherwise. At the beginning of the story, Young Goodman Brown a newlywed about to leave his wife Faith to embark on a journey into the forest. Faith pleaded with him not to go that night because she feared the thoughts that could harm her if she were left alone. Faith, the embodiment of innocence with her pink ribbons in her hair, is the what Young Goodman Brown clings to as his curiosity gets the best of him, and he leaves his “Faith.”

As Goodman Brown travels through the forest, he meets up with a man/devil, sitting by a tree. This man/devil seems like any ordinary man, but something is not quite right about him. Young Goodman Brown sees that the man resembles his father, and, according to the old man/ devil, he has met both Brown’s grandfather and father.

The old man/devil even says that he aided Brown's grandfather in beating a Quaker, and his farther in setting afire an Indian Village in King Phillip's War. Young Goodman Brown is shocked that other people of importance, such as the minister himself, are involved with ungodly deeds.

Brown is now truly seeing the evilness around him and wants to return home to his Faith, in both the physical and spiritual sense. Brown now sees that, even though the elders of his society and his ancestors put on the persona of godliness, their actions were not that of devoted Christians. When Young Brown thinks he hears his own wife’s voice in the forest, he breaks down and finally gives in and joins in a Satanic Sabbath ceremony. In that instant his faith crumpled and he succumbed to the corrupted ways of his forefathers.

As Good Brown uses the serpent staff as a beacon, he arrives at the ceremony as does not see his wife Faith. When the old man/devil says “bring forth the converts,” meaning Young Goodman Brown and a hooded female, readers find out that Faith is that female. Once Young Goodman Brown sees this, all hope of maintaining his own faith, as long as Faith held on to hers, was gone.

At the end of the story, readers truly see the fall of man from a secure faith to having none at all. Young Goodman Brown was exposed to evil in the forest that night, and once evil is seen you see it everywhere, just as Young Goodman Brown did.